Happy Rabbit | Looney Tunes Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia [Source] Happy Rabbit (simply known as: Prototype-Bugs Bunny, Prototype-Bugs, or simply just Proto-Bugs) is a character from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series who later evolved into the Warner Bros. cartoon studio 's most famous character, Bugs Bunny . Created by Ben Hardaway in 1938, Happy Rabbit first appeared in the short Porky's Hare Hunt . Happy Rabbit is more like Bugs Bunny in this short, except he has apricot-colored gloves and mouth, furrier tail, black nose, black-tipped ears, and a different voice. Happy's voice sounds "rural", and at times sounds rather like Daffy Duck's early voice. The laugh at the end of the cartoon, "Heh-heh-heh-HEH-heh!", is similar to the early version of Woody Woodpecker. Like most of the other Looney Tunes characters, Happy Rabbit was voiced by Mel Blanc and later Joe Alaskey . No one remembered the name of the Bugs Bunny prototype until Blanc spoke of Bugs' origins in a 1970s interview.

History Happy Rabbit made his screen debut in the 1938 Looney Tunes cartoon Porky's Hare Hunt , directed by Ben Hardaway. Similar in tone and execution to the previous year's Porky's Duck Hunt , which introduced Daffy Duck , Porky's Hare Hunt involves Porky hunting a white rabbit whose wild antics drive him mad. Mel Blanc would later use his "Happy Rabbit" voice characterization as the voice of Walter Lantz's Woody Woodpecker. Charles Jones used Happy Rabbit as a foil in his 1939 short, Prest-O Change-O , which marked the rabbit's second appearance. Happy was the focal point of his fourth cartoon, Hare-um Scare-um (1939), for which he was redesigned as a gray rabbit with large buck teeth. Happy Rabbit made his sixth appearance in Elmer's Candid Camera (1940), a cartoon which marked the first appearance of the "official" version of Elmer J. Fudd . The cartoon set into play the antagonistic relationship that would develop between Elmer and Happy's successor, Bugs Bunny, over the years.

Throughout Elmer's Candid Camera, Happy Rabbit is very similar in appearance and personality to Bugs; the only major differences between the two were that Happy had apricot-colored gloves and muzzle, a furrier tail, a black nose, black-tipped ears, and a different voice. Happy appeared one last time with a cameo role in 1940's Patient Porky . The same year, Tex Avery directed A Wild Hare , a cartoon featuring Elmer Fudd hunting a rabbit, he had Happy Rabbit redesigned and revised with a new personality and even a different voice. The resulting rabbit character was given a new name - Bugs Bunny - in Chuck Jones' 1941 follow-up to A Wild Hare, Elmer's Pet Rabbit . Happy Rabbit appeared in the deleted scenes of the 2003 film Looney Tunes: Back in Action . Bugs Bunny at 75: Watch the First-Ever 'What's Up, Doc?' Moment (Looney Tunes characters, names, and all related indicia are TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. You can watch the whole thing here .) Here’s how the world’s favorite cartoon rabbit came to be.

Animator Chuck Jones gave credit to Tex Avery for the character, but Warner Bros. had made several rabbit cartoons in the studio’s earlier years. There were cutesy rabbits and wacky rabbits , but those rabbits aren’t Bugs. (One distinction, Jones explained, was that Bugs’ craziness always serves a purpose–in contrast to the unhinged Daffy Duck.) The Wild Hare bunny is uncredited, though that changed before the year was up. Bugs was an instant star. By 1954, TIME noted that he was more popular than Mickey Mouse. (Mel Blanc, who voiced the character, later claimed that the name was his idea, saying that they were going to call the character Happy Rabbit, but that Blanc suggested naming him after animator Ben “Bugs” Hardaway. Alternatively, the name is sometimes traced to a sketch that designer Charles Thorson did on Hardaways’ request, with the caption “Bugs’ bunny”—as in, it was the bunny that Bugs had asked him to draw.) Though Virgil Ross was the animator on A Wild Hare, Chuck Jones became one of the more famous hands behind the Bugs Bunny magic.

In 1979, when The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie came out, TIME critic Richard Schickel noted that “it is possible that some day Animator Chuck Jones may come to be regarded as the American Bunuel” for the fact that Jones and the groundbreaking surrealist filmmaker so well understood the psychological underpinnings of comedy. As these images from the late artist’s archives show, Bugs Bunny may have taken a long time to be born—but he sure has aged well. Courtesy Chuck Jones Center for Creativity“Picture the Future” a hand-painted cel art edition by Chuck Jones Read TIME’s take on Warner cartoons’ 50th birthday, in 1985, here in the TIME Vault: For Heaven’s Sake! Grown Men! Sign up for 72 Years Ago Today: Bugs Bunny Was Born 72 Years Ago Today: Bugs Bunny Was Born 33 Seventy-two years ago today – on July 27th, 1940 – Bugs Bunny appeared in Tex Avery’s A Wild Hare. The Warner Bros. short is widely considered to be the first definitive Bugs Bunny cartoon, in which the character’s appearance, personality and voice gelled as a whole.

It’s also the first time Bugs, voiced by the inimitable Mel Blanc, uttered his famous catchphrase, “What’s up, doc?” All the major players involved with the production of A Wild Hare are dead except for one individual: 94-year-old Bob Givens. He was the character designer who redesigned the studio’s clumsy-looking rabbit character into the familiar design below. You’ll notice that Givens calls the character “Tex’s Rabbit” because they hadn’t officially christened him Bugs Bunny yet. Bob can also claim responsibility for redesigning Elmer Fudd into the recognizable character that we know today. He speaks about working on A Wild Hare in this interview conducted by animation historian Steve Worth and animators Will Finn and Mike Fontanelli: PARTNER MESSAGE Bob Givens means a lot to me personally because he was the first animation artist that I ever interviewed. Who knows where I’d be today if Bob hadn’t been patient and encouraging of my interest in documenting animation history.

I wish I could remember how I first got in touch with him–it may have been simply by looking him up in the phone book–but when I went to Bob’s modest bungalow home in North Hollywood, I was unaware of just how much of a key figure he’d been throughout the history of Golden Age Hollywood animation. I learned quickly though. In 2001, a few years after our first interview, I had the honor of interviewing Bob a second time. This time it was onstage at the San Diego Comic-Con International where he was joined by fellow WB veteran Pete Alvarado. It’s doubtful that the event was recorded onto video, but this photographic memory remains: In the past seventy-two years, we’ve seen countless versions of Bugs Bunny, redesigned, rebooted, updated–some enjoyable and some not so much. But today, let’s take a look back at A Wild Hare and remember the moment when one of the most entertaining cartoon characters was born. And let’s celebrate Bob Givens, the legendary designer of Bugs who is still with us today. Amid Amidi is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Cartoon Brew. Read his full bio HERE . Sean P I just had lunch with Bob two weeks ago.

That man has a sharp mind and is modest about it. The more you talk to him about his work the more you realize you have to thank him. Lamar the Revenger I remember that! Jenny Happy Birthday, Bugs! You’re pretty much the king of tricksters – which is a good thing. :D Hopefully, Warner Bros. will bring you and the other Looney Tunes back in the right direction again. Sorry, but The Looney Tunes Show is an insult to everything Looney Tunes stands for. :( R. Araya … Don’t worry, at least they haven’t used disco-style music (well, they did on the reunion episode) or laugh-tracks. P.D.:Happy B-Day, Bugs KreD @Jenny: Well the original shorts have returned to Cartoon Network’s everyday lineup thanks to the Looney Tunes Show. And they’ve recently created some new shorts with the same vein as the classics for the theaters (which in my opinion are better than the shorts of the mid90s-early 2000s). So I’d say the Looney Tunes are in a better position than they were say about 5 years ago.

skid That Bob Givens design is and always will be my favorite Bugs Bunny design. D Happy Birthday Bugs! Where would any young animator, cartoonist or animation aficionado be without your glorious influence. It’s hard to believe that after 72 years he’s still the same old Bugs, I guess he’s aged well, I think they call it timelessness. Thad You’ll notice that Givens calls the character “Tex’s Rabbit” because they hadn’t officially christened him Bugs Bunny yet. Actually, the character was officially christened Bugs Bunny by marketing in 1939, as this promotional book shows. Avery really hated the name, hence why so many of the modelsheets drawn for his unit ( as reproduced here ) lack the moniker. Amid Actually, the character in that book you linked to is not called Bugs Bunny but ‘Bugs’ Bunny. As I’m sure you know, the proto-Bugs that was designed by Charles Thorson for Hare-um Scare-um was labeled on the model sheet as Bugs’ Bunny, to make clear that it belonged to the cartoon’s co-director Ben “Bugs” Hardaway.

I’m not aware of Tex saying that he hated the name â€” he may have said so in some interview, but I just can’t think of any right now â€” but I can certainly understand his resistance to using the name at the time the cartoon was made. Why would he attach the nickname of another director to what he considered to be a new character? The proof is in Givens’ model sheet. They didn’t consider this to be an improvement on Bugs’ Bunny, but this was Tex’s Rabbit. The idea that this character would be called Bugs Bunny was a retroactive decision and happened after Chuck Jones had directed a cartoon using Tex’s character. In short, I’ve never found any evidence that the character in A Wild Hare was considered by Tex or WB to be Bugs Bunny at the time of its release (if you have the evidence, please share). While it’s certainly true that an earlier character called Bugs (or Bugs’) Bunny did exist, there isn’t any proof that Tex considered his rabbit to be the same exact character.

TheDirtyVicar According to Joe Adamson’s book on Avery, Tex’s initial resistance to the name Bugs Bunny had more to do with the word “bunny,” because he imagined the character as less a bunny and more of a jackrabbit. David Gerstein Amid: “In short, I’ve never found any evidence that the character in A Wild Hare was considered by Tex or WB to be Bugs Bunny at the time of its release (if you have the proof, please share).” The official WB copyright synopses to PORKY’S HARE HUNT and PREST-O CHANGE-O don’t name the rabbit.

The official WB copyright synopsis to HARE-UM SCARE-UM refers to: “Bugs” Bunny, that screwy rabbit The official WB copyright synopsis to ELMER’S CANDID CAMERA refers to: Bugs Bunny, the screwby [sic] rabbit The official WB copyright synopsis to A WILD HARE refers to: Bugs Bunny the screwy rabbit The official WB copyright synopsis to ELMER’S PET RABBIT refers to: a screwy rabbit named “Bugs Bunny.” A 1942 Bugs Bunny comic book includes a biography that says “Like many other Hollywood stars, Bugs started his movie career by playing a small part in a picture in 1938. This led to better parts, and in 1940 he became a full-fledged star!” The 1938 date backdates the character’s birth to PORKY’S HARE HUNT as early as 1942. Bugs Bunny comic book stories occasionally spell the name “Bugs” Bunny in the title panel until 1944, when a story drawn by Tom McKimson actually explains that “Bugs” is a nickname for George Washington Bunny. After this, the quote marks stop.

I think this merits a blogpost… Thad Hi, Amid. Crucial evidence that this is not a separate entity, but a major overhauling of the same character, is in a film: PATIENT PORKY (skip to about 1:25), released shortly after A WILD HARE. That’s the Bob Givens Bugs model with the HARE-UM SCARE-UM/ELMER’S CANDID CAMERA voice and mannerisms. Obviously Clampett knew “this is what the character is going to look like from now on,” but not how he was going to act. Otherwise, why didn’t he just use the Thorson model if Avery’s was a new, separate character? Mike Barrier outlined Bugs’s evolution in his book years ago. Well damn, there’s the Gerstein Version before I even asked him to post it.

Faithful Eediot This is the letter Avery sent (from the old GAC forums, courtesy of “Sogturtle” “I am now in the process of trying to stop an imposter, Bob Clampett from spreading the word that he is the father of Bugs Bunny!— When I made ‘A Wild Hare’ he was busy in another building knocking out Porky Pigs! — I was recently tricked into some film clips with Larry Jackson for his ‘Bugs Bunny Superstar’ whereupon I told how I created Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd (1940) and Daffy Duck (Porky’s Duck Hunt) 1937— When the picture came out I found out he collaborated with Bob Clampett—! He cut the picture in Clampett’s studio! Of course most of my comments were cut—” …. Sincerely, Tex Avery Also, in 1945, Eddie Selzer conducted an investigation on this very topic to protect Bugs Bunny from trademark infringement, getting statements from relevant animators; his conclusion was that Bugs only came about in “A Wild Hare”. Amid David – Do you know when the copyright descriptions were filed?

I’m guessing after the cartoon had been completed and released. None of your info contradicts my very simple statement, which is at the time “A Wild Hare” was made, Bugs Bunny had not been christened with that name by Tex Avery. There is no evidence that in 1940, Avery considered the rabbit to be named Bugs Bunny. Bob Givens’ model sheet makes it clear that they didn’t recognize him as Bugs Bunny, as does the fact that no “A Wild Hare” promotional materials from the film’s initial release refer to the character as Bugs Bunny. I specifically wrote that, “You’ll notice that Givens calls the character ‘Tex’s Rabbit’ because they hadn’t officially christened him Bugs Bunny yet.” The history you provide of how the character was developed and what it was called all happened AFTER the fact. It doesn’t take into account the perceptions of the artists during the production of the film. The documents that exist from the production are our most solid clues about what the character was called at the time. Thad – Funny you should ask. Here is Bob Givens speaking on the topic from a 2008 interview with Adam Abraham.

Though some of Bob’s dates are inacccurate, his feeling about Tex’s character being an original creation are clear. Adam Abraham: You mean “A Wild Hare”? Bob Givens: Yeah, “A Wild Hare.” I designed–redesigned Elmer. Elmer was never–Tex Avery did the first, “Wild Hare.” It was a rabbit–a duck dressed in a rabbit suit, like Friz says. You know what made Bugs Bunny? [It] was the personality that Tex added. And I redesigned the son of a bitch. Mel Blanc did the voice. Adam Abraham: So you’re talking about redesigning Bugs Bunny. Bob Givens: Well, they had a Bugs Bunny before, but it wasn’t Bugs Bunny; it was some idiot that jumped around like [Robert] Clampett’s stuff. So it was not Bugs Bunny. The only reason people think it was Bugs Bunny [is] ’cause the model sheet–Charlie Thorson did–had on there “Bugs’ Bunny.” It was done for Bugs Hardaway, another director. And they just never bothered to change it.

And so it came round to get a name in 1945; they looked back, and they found that old model sheet– “Bugs’ Bunny” –that’s catchy. Had nothing to do with Bugs’s bunny, but the name stuck. So everybody thinks Bugs Bunny was done by Clampett and those other idiots. They had nothing to do with it! Actually, the only guy–it was Tex. He invented Bugs Bunny. The three of us. Thad I guess Givens has changed his mind, because, per Mike Barrier : Robert Givens, who succeeded Thorson as the Schlesinger studio’s principal character designer, said [in an undated letter to me that I received in April 1980] that the directors considered Thorson’s version of Bugs “too cute, so Tex asked me to do [another] one.” That doesn’t sound like he was coming up with a new character from scratch, simply overhauling a continuing character. You are reading too much into the “Tex’s Rabbit” designation, as if it means something more than just the simple label it is.

What is the significance behind the later McKimson Bugs modelsheets being labeled “Rabbit Model” then, which all of the directors used, and when the character was already designated Bugs Bunny? Perhaps Sambo labeled as “Tex’s Coon” on the ALL THIS AND RABBIT STEW model tells us what Tex Avery really thought of black people. I’m saying this with sarcasm but… Who’s Bugs Bunny?! Mike Caracappa Forget sarcasm, here’s a true story: I once asked my 15 year-old cousin if she ever saw the Looney Tunes where Bugs Bunny sang in the opera with Elmer Fudd. Her response: “What are the Looney Tunes?” You can tell THAT to WB marketing. David Nethery Thank you Bob Givens for being an inspiration to so many of us for so many years. I never really got to work “with” you too much , but in fact we are both credited on the same production, “Bugs Bunny’s Wild World of Sports” (1989) , one of those many “compilation” TV specials, directed by Terry Lennon and Greg Ford.

At the time I was just a neophyte, wet-behind-the-ears animator when I worked on this show , but I still remember when my pals , master animators Mark Kausler and Frans Vischer (both of whom I was honored to assist on “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”) introduced me to you during the few weeks I worked on this production. Mark Kausler gave me the low down on WHO you were and I was just so amazed to be working on the same show with someone who had your background. (I wish my animation on top of your layouts for that show had been better) . A Brief History of Bugs Bunny - Neatorama Neatorama Who's your favorite cartoon character? Ears ours. IMPRESSIVE STATS Bug Bunny is the world's most popular rabbit: * Since 1939, he has starred in more than 175 films. * He's been nominated for three Oscars, and won one -in 1958, for "Knighty Knight, Bugs" (with Yosemite Sam). * Every year from 1945 to 1961, he was voted "top animated character" by movie theater owners (when they still showed cartoons in theaters).

* In 1985 he became only the 2nd cartoon character to be given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Mickey Mouse was the first). * For almost 30 years, starting in 1960, he had one of the top-rated shows in Saturday morning TV. * In 1976, when researchers polled Americans on their favorite characters, real and imaginary, Bugs came in second ...behind Abraham Lincoln. THE INSPIRATIONS Bugs was born in the 1930s, but cartoon historians say his ancestry goes further back. A few direct antecedents: * Zomo. You may not have heard of this African folk-rabbit. but he's world famous. Joe Adamson writes in Bugs Bunny: Fifty Years and Only One Grey Hare: Like jazz and rock'n'roll, Bugs has at least some of his roots in black culture. Zomo is the trickster rabbit from Central and Eastern Africa who gained audience sympathy by being smaller than his oppressors and turning the tables on them through cleverness -thousands of years before Eastman invented film. A con artist, a masquerader, ruthless and suave, in control of the situation.

Specialized in impersonating women. * Charlie Chaplin. "It was Chaplin who established that 'gestures and actions expressing attitude' give a screen character life." Adamson writes. The Looney Tunes directors, all fans of Chaplin, even stole many of his gags. For example: The abrupt and shocking kiss Charlie plants [on] someone who's getting too closse for comfort in The Floorwalker went on to become one of Bugs' favorite ways to upset his adversaries. [And] the walking broomstick in Bewitched Bunny does Chaplin's trademark turn, with one foot in the air, at every corner. There are literally dozens of other Chaplin rip-offs. Bugs also lifted bits from silent comedians Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. * Groucho Marx. "Bugs uses his carrot as a prop, just as Groucho used his cigar," points out Stefan Kanfer in Serious Business. "Eventually Bugs even stole Marx's response to an insult: 'Of course you know, this means war!' " TIMELINE 1937: Warner Bros.

animation director Tex Avery makes "Porky's Duck Hunt." Porky Pig hunted a screwball duck named Daffy -"who didn't get scared and run run away when somebody pointed a gun at him, but leapt and hopped all over the place like a maniac." "When it hit the theaters," recalls another director, "it was like an explosion." 1938: Warner Bros. director Ben "Bugs" Hardaway remakes the cartoon with a rabbit instead of a duck, as "Porky's Hare Hunt". Says one of Bugs' creators: "That rabbit was just Daffy Duck in a rabbit suit." 1939: Bugs Hardaway decides to remake "Porky's Hare Hunt" with a new rabbit (as "Hare-um Scare-um"). Cartoonist Charlie Thorson comes up with a gray and white rabbit with large buck teeth. He labels his sketch "Bugs' Bunny". 1940: Director Tex Avery becomes the real father of Bugs Bunny with "A Wild Hare". Bugs is changed from a Daffyesque lunatic to a streetsmart wiseass.

"We decided he was going to be a smart alec rabbit, but casual about it," Avery recalled. "His opening linewas 'What's up, Doc? ...It floored 'em! ...Here's a guy with a gun in his face! ...They expected the rabbit to scream, or anything but make a casual remark... It got such a laugh that we said, 'Let's use that every chance we get.' It became a series of 'What's up, Docs?' That set his entire character, He was always in command, in the face of all types of dangers." * Bugs also gets his voice in "A Wild Hare". Mel Blanc, who did most Looney Tunes voices, had been having a hard time finding one for the rabbit... until Bugs Hardaway showed him the latest sketch for "A Wild Hare". Blanc wrote: He'd obviously had some work done. His posture had improved, he'd shed some weight, and his protruding front teeth weren't as pronounced. The most significant change, however, was in his facial expression. No longer just goofy, he was a sly looking rascal. "A tough little stinker, isn't he?" Hardaway commented...

and the light went on in Blanc's brain. A tough little stinker... In my mind I heard a Brooklyn accent... To anyone living west of the Hudson River at that time, Brooklynites were associated with con artists and crooks... Consequently, the new, improved Bugs Bunny wouldn't say jerk, he'd say joik. * The rabbit is now so popular he needs a name. According to some sources, he is about to be dubbed "Happy Rabbit". Tex Avery wants "Jack E. Rabbit". But when Thorson's year-old drawing labeled "Bugs' Bunny" is turned up, producer Leon Schlesinger chooses that. Avery hates it. "That's sissy," he complains. "Mine's a rabbit. A tall, lanky, mean rabbit. He isn't a fuzzy little bunny!" But the name sticks. 1941: Bugs Bunny becomes competitive. Four extremely talented directors -Avery, Fritz Freleng, Bob Clampett, and Chuck Jones- try to top each other with new gags and aspects of Bugs' personality. It's the key to the character's success -he's constantly growing.

"As each director added new levels to this character," Adamson explains, "it was picked up by others and became part of the mix." 1943: Animator Robert McKimson (later a director himself), working for Bob Clampett, refines Bugs' features into what they are today. "We made him cuter, brought his head and cheeks out a little more and gave him just a little nose," McKimson says. He looks more "elfin" and less "ratlike" now. 1945: During World War II, Bugs has become a "sort of a national mascot." Critic Richard Schickel writes: "In the war years, when he flourished most gloriously, Bugs Bunny embodied the cocky humor of a nation that had survived its economic crisis [in surprisingly good shape], and was facing a terrible war with grace, gallantry, humor and and solidarity that was equally surprising." By the end of the war, Bugs isn't just a cartoon character, but an American icon. BUGS FACTS Saved by a Hare. The inspiration for the original rabbit came from Walt Disney. In 1935 Disney put out a cartoon featuring a character called Max Hare.

Hardaway's rabbit looks suspiciously like Max. Trademarks. Where did Bugs' carrot-crunching and "What's up, Doc?" come from? No one's sure, but experts have suggested they might have been inspired by a couple of popular films. * In Frank Capra's 1934 Oscar-winning comedy, It Happened One Night, Clark Gable nervously munches on carrots. * In the classic 1939 screwball comedy My Man Godfrey, William Powqell uses the line, "What's up, Doc?" repeatedly. On the other hand, Tex Avery had a habit of calling everyone Doc -so he may have inspired the phrase. (Mel Blanc -Bugs' voice- also claims in his autobiography that he ad-libbed the line, but he seems to take credit for everything- so we don't believe him.) Tough Act. Blanc said that recording the "What's up, Doc?" line turned out to be the most physically challenging part of doing the voice: "What's up, Doc?" was incomplete without the sound of the rabbit nibbling on the carrot, which presented problems. First of all, I don't especially like carrots, at least not raw.

[Ed note: In another BR, we erroneously reported that he was allergic to carrots. Oops.] And second, I found it impossible to chew, swallow, and be ready to say my next line. We tried substituting other vegetables, including apples and celery, with unsatisfactory results. The solution was to stop recording so that I could spit out the carrot into the wastebasket and then proceed with the script. In the course of a recording session I usually went through enough carrots to fill several wastebaskets. Bugs Bunny did for carrots what Popeye did for spinach. How many...children were coerced into eating their carrots by mothers cooing... "but Bugs Bunny eats his carrots." If only they had known. Eat Your Veggies. Actually, there were pressures to switch from carrots. "The Utah Celery Company of Salt Lake City offered to keep all the studio's staffers well supplied with their product if Bugs would only switch from carrots to celery," Adamson reports. "[And] later, the Broccoli Institute of America strongly urged Bugs Bunny to sample their product once in a while... Mel Blanc would have been happy to switch... but carrots were Bugs's trademark." Surprise Hit.

To his creators, Bugs Bunny was just another character that would probably run in a few cartoons and fade unnoticed into obscurity. "We didn't feel that we had anything," Avery recounted years later, "until we got it on the screen and it got a few laughs. After we ran it and previewed it and so forth, Warner liked it, the exhibitors liked it, and so of course [the producer] ran down and said, 'Boy, give me as many of these as you can!' Which we did." Bug Bunny became so popular with the public that he got laughs even when he didn't deserve them. "He could do no wrong," remembers dialog writer Michael Maltese. "We had quite a few lousy Bugs Bunnies. We'd say, 'Well he haven't got time. Let's do it.' And we'd do it, and the audience would laugh. They loved that rabbit." ___________________ The article above was reprinted with permission from The Best of the Best of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader. Since 1988, the Bathroom Reader Institute had published a series of popular books containing irresistible bits of trivia and obscure yet fascinating facts .

If you like Neatorama, you'll love the Bathroom Reader Institute's books - go ahead and check 'em out! How Old Is Bugs Bunny? | Cartoon Research April 27, 2013 posted by Jerry Beck How Old Is Bugs Bunny? This weekend, Leonard Maltin and I will be presenting a tribute screening, at the TCM Fest in Hollywood, to the 75th anniversary of Bugs Bunny. But if you ask Warner Bros. today they’ll tell you Bugs Bunny began in 1940 – and that’s IF they’ll admit to any birth dates at all! Major international conglomerates will do what they have to do to protect their corporate assets. “Bugs Bunny”, as far as they are concerned, looks a certain way, acts a certain way and says certain things (“What’s Up, Doc?”) in a certain sounding way. That certain way began in 1940 – with Tex Avery’s A Wild Hare . However, Warner Bros. themselves (and Leon Schlesinger before them) had traditionally pointed to 1938 as the birth year of the wabbit. The inside cover of the vintage Bugs Bunny comic book above attests to that.

The copyright sheets below (courtesy of David Gerstein ) were all prepared prior to the release of A Wild Hare, all three identify the zany rabbit as “Bugs Bunny”. (Bugs was first named on-screen in 1941′s Elmer’s Pet Rabbit ). Heck, even in a 1939 Schlesinger merchandising manual (below, at right), ‘Bugs’ Bunny is identified as such a year before his “official” birth in A Wild Hare. Click thumbnails below to enlarge and read. Below that is the “Any Bonds Today” short mentioned in the comic page above. Oh – and Happy Birthday, Bugs – You don’t look a day over 73! Bugs Bunny | Looney Tunes Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia [Source] Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character, best known for his starring roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of theatrical short films produced by Warner Bros. during the 1940s, 50s and 60s. His popularity during this era led to his becoming an American cultural icon, as well as a corporate mascot of the Warner Bros. company.

He was created by the staff of Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons ) and voiced originally by the "Man of a Thousand Voices", Mel Blanc . Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray hare and is famous for his relaxed, passive personality, pronounced New York accent (Blanc described the voice as being a mixture of Brooklyn and Bronx accents [1] ), depiction as a mischievous trickster, and his catchphrase "Eh, what's up, doc?" (usually said while chewing a carrot). Bugs has appeared in more films (both short and feature-length) than any other cartoon character, has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and is the 9th most-portrayed film personality in the world. Contents Bugs' precursor Bugs' evolution from Happy Rabbit to the present Happy Rabbit , a hare with some of the personality of Bugs (though looking very different), made his first appearance in the cartoon short Porky's Hare Hunt , released on April 30, 1938.

Co-directed by Ben Hardaway and an uncredited Cal Dalton (who was responsible for the initial design of the rabbit), this short has an almost identical plot to Tex Avery 's Porky's Duck Hunt , which had introduced Daffy Duck . Hare Hunt replaced the little black duck with a small white rabbit. Porky Pig was again cast as a hunter tracking a silly prey who is more interested in driving his pursuer insane and less interested in escaping. Happy introduced himself with the odd expression "Jiggers, fellers," and Mel Blanc gave the character a voice and laugh much like those he would later use for Woody Woodpecker. Hare Hunt also gave Happy the famous Groucho Marx line, "Of course you realize, this means war!" The rabbit character was popular enough with audiences that the Termite Terrace staff decided to use it again. Happy returned in the short Prest-O Change-O , directed by Chuck Jones , where he is the pet rabbit of unseen character Sham-Fu The Magician. Two dogs, fleeing the local dogcatcher, enter his absent master's house. Happy harasses them, but is ultimately bested by the bigger of the two dogs.

Happy's third appearance came in Hare-um Scare-um , once again directed by Cal and Ben. This short (the first in which he is depicted as a gray bunny instead of a white one) is also notable as Happy's first singing role. Charlie Thorson, lead animator on the short, gave the character a different name. He had written "Bugs' Bunny" on the model sheet that he drew for Ben. In promotional material for the short, including a surviving 1939 press kit, the name on the model sheet was altered to become the rabbit's own name: "Bugs" Bunny (quotation marks only used, on and off, until 1944). In Chuck Jones' Elmer's Candid Camera , Happy met Elmer Fudd for the first time. In this cartoon, Happy looked more like the present-day Bugs, taller and with a similar face—-but retaining the more primitive voice. Candid Cameras Elmer character design was also different: fatter and taller than the modern model, although Arthur Q. Bryan 's character voice was already established.

Animation historians identify these Happy Rabbit cartoons as Bugs Bunny's early cartoons before he reaches his fame in A Wild Hare, as evident in documentaries such as The Wabbit Turns 50 from WWOR in 1989. Bugs' official debut Bugs emerges (literally) for the first time in A Wild Hare A Wild Hare , directed by Tex Avery and released on July 27, 1940, is widely considered to be the first official Bugs Bunny cartoon. It is the first short where both Elmer Fudd and Bugs are shown in their fully developed forms as hunter and tormentor, respectively; the first in which Mel Blanc used what would become Bugs' standard voice; and the first in which Bugs says his catchphrase, "What's Up, Doc?" The short was a huge success in theaters and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film. Immediately following on A Wild Hare, Bob Clampett 's Patient Porky featured a cameo appearance by Bugs, announcing to the audience that 750 rabbits have been born. The gag uses Bugs' Wild Hare visual design, but his goofier pre-Wild Hare voice characterization.

The second full-fledged role for the mature Bugs, Chuck Jones ' Elmer's Pet Rabbit , was the first to use the name Bugs Bunny on-screen: it appears in a title card, "featuring Bugs Bunny," at the start of the short (which was edited in following the success of A Wild Hare). However, Bugs' voice in this cartoon is significantly different, and his design was slightly altered as well. After Pet Rabbit, however, subsequent Bugs appearances returned to normal: the Wild Hare visual design returned, and Mel reused the Wild Hare voice characterization. The name "Bugs" or "Bugsy" as an old-fashioned nickname means "crazy" (or "loopy"). Several famous people from the first half of the twentieth century had that nickname, like famous gangster, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, who disliked the nickname. It is now out of fashion as a nickname, but survives in 1950's–1960's expressions like "you're bugging me", as in "you're driving me crazy". It was the nickname of the aforementioned Ben Hardaway, and notes that referred to this "Bugs' bunny" stuck.

Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt , directed by Friz Freleng , became the second Bugs Bunny cartoon to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film. The fact that it didn't win the award was later spoofed somewhat in What's Cookin' Doc? , in which Bugs demands a recount after losing the Oscar to Jimmy Cagney and presents a clip from Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt to prove his point. World War II By 1942, Bugs had become the #1 star of Merrie Melodies. The series had originally been intended only for one-shot characters in shorts after several early attempts to introduce characters ( Foxy , Goopy Geer , and Piggy ) failed under Harman–Ising (by 1937, under Leon Schlesinger , it had started introducing newer characters). Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid featured a slight redesign of Bugs, with less-prominent front teeth and a rounder head. The character was reworked by Robert McKimson , then an animator in Bob Clampett's unit.

The redesign at first was only used in the shorts created by Bob's unit, but in time it would be taken up by the other directors, with Friz Freleng and Frank Tashlin the first. When Robert was himself promoted to director, he created yet another version, with more slanted eyes, longer teeth, and a much larger mouth. He used this version until 1949 (as did Arthur Davis for the one Bugs Bunny cartoon he directed) when he started using the version he had designed for Bob. Chuck Jones would come up with his own slight modification, and the voice had slight variations between the units. Bugs also made cameos in Tex Avery's final WB short, Crazy Cruise . Since Bugs' debut in A Wild Hare, he had appeared only in color Merrie Melodie cartoons (making him one of the few recurring characters created for that series in the Leon Schlesinger era prior to the full conversion to color), alongside Elmer predecessor Egghead , Inki , Sniffles , and Elmer himself. While he made a cameo appearance in the Porky and Daffy cartoon Porky Pig's Feat , this was his only appearance in a black-and-white Looney Tunes short.

He did not star in a Looney Tunes cartoon until that series made its complete conversion to only color cartoons beginning in 1944. Buckaroo Bugs was Bugs' first starring role in a Looney Tunes short, and was also the last WB cartoon to credit Leon (as he had retired and sold his studio to Warner Bros. that year). Bugs, Porky and Elmer in Any Bonds Today? Bugs' popularity soared during World War II because of his free and easy attitude, and began receiving special star billing in his cartoons by 1943. By that time, Warner Bros. had become the most profitable cartoon studio in the U.S. In company with cartoon studios such as Disney and Famous Studios, WB put its characters against Adolf Hitler , Benito Mussolini, and the Japanese. Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips featured Bugs at odds with a group of Japanese soldiers. This cartoon has since been pulled from distribution due to its racism towards Japanese people. Bugs also faced off against Hermann Göring and Hitler in Herr Meets Hare , which introduced his well-known reference to Albuquerque as he mistakenly winds up in the Black Forest of "Joimany" instead of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Bugs also appeared in the 1942 two-minute U.S. war bonds commercial film Any Bonds Today? , along with Porky and Elmer. At the end of Super-Rabbit , Bugs appears wearing a United States Marine Corps dress blue uniform. As a result, the Marine Corps made Bugs an honorary Marine Master Sergeant. From 1943 to 1946, Bugs was the official mascot of Kingman Army Airfield, Kingman, Arizona, where thousands of aerial gunners were trained during World War II. Some notable trainees included Clark Gable and Charles Bronson. Bugs also served as the mascot for 530 Squadron of the 380th Bombardment Group, 5th Air Force, U.S. Air Force, which was attached to the Royal Australian Air Force and operated out of Australia's Northern Territory from 1943 to 1945, flying B-24 Liberator bombers. Bugs riding an air delivered torpedo served as the squadron logo for Marine Torpedo/Bomber Squadron 242 in the Second World War.

In 1944, Bugs Bunny made a cameo appearance in Jasper Goes Hunting, a Puppetoons short produced by rival studio Paramount Pictures. In this cameo (animated by Robert McKimson, with Mel providing the voice), Bugs (after being threatened at gunpoint) pops out of a rabbit hole, saying his usual catchphrase; after hearing the orchestra play the wrong theme song, he realizes "Hey, I'm in the wrong picture!" and then goes back in the hole. The Postwar Era After World War II, Bugs continued to appear in numerous Warner Bros. cartoons, making his last "Golden Age" appearance in 1964's False Hare . He starred in over 167 theatrical shorts, most of which were directed by Friz Freleng , Robert McKimson and Chuck Jones . Friz' Knighty Knight Bugs , in which a medieval Bugs trades blows with Yosemite Sam and his fire-breathing dragon (which has a cold), won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film (becoming the first Bugs Bunny cartoon to win said award). Three of Chuck's shorts — Rabbit Fire , Rabbit Seasoning , and Duck! Rabbit, Duck!

— compose what is often referred to as the "Rabbit Season/Duck Season" trilogy and are famous for originating the "historic" rivalry between Bugs and Daffy Duck. Chuck's classic What's Opera, Doc? , casts Bugs and Elmer Fudd in a parody of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. It was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1992, becoming the first cartoon short to receive this honor. Bugs and Daffy in the intro to The Bugs Bunny Show In the fall of 1960, ABC debuted the prime-time television program The Bugs Bunny Show . This show packaged many of the post-1948 Looney Tunes shorts with newly animated wraparounds. After two seasons, it was moved from its evening slot to reruns on Saturday mornings. The Bugs Bunny Show changed format and exact title frequently, but remained on network television for 40 years. The packaging was later completely different, with each short simply presented on its own, title and all, though some clips from the new bridging material were sometimes used as filler.

After the Classic Cartoon Era Bugs did not appear in any of the post-1964 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises or Seven Arts Productions, nor did he appear in the lone Looney Tunes TV special produced by Filmation Associates . He would not appear in new material on-screen again until Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of the Animals aired in 1976. Bugs with his Disney rival Mickey Mouse in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? In the 1988 live-action/animated movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (from executive producer Steven Spielberg ), Bugs appeared as one of the inhabitants of Toontown. However, since the film was being produced by Disney, Warner Bros. would only allow the use of their biggest star if he got an equal amount of screen time as Disney's biggest star, Mickey Mouse. Because of this, both characters are always together in frame when onscreen. Roger Rabbit also featured one of Mel Blanc 's final performances as the voice of Bugs (as well as the other Looney Tunes characters) before his death in 1989.

Bugs later appeared in another animated production featuring numerous characters from rival studios; the 1990 drug prevention TV special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue . This special is notable for being the first time that someone other than Mel voiced Bugs and Daffy (both characters were voiced by Jeff Bergman for this). Bugs also made guest appearances in the early 1990s television series Tiny Toon Adventures (also from Steven Spielberg), as the principal of Acme Looniversity and the mentor of Buster Bunny . He made further cameos in Warner Bros.' subsequent animated TV shows Taz-Mania , Animaniacs and Histeria! Bugs returned to the silver screen in 1990's Box Office Bunny . This was the first Bugs Bunny cartoon since 1964 to be released in theaters and it was created for Bugs' 50th anniversary celebration. It was followed by Blooper Bunny , a cartoon that was shelved from theaters, but later premiered on Cartoon Network in 1997 and has since gained a cult following among animation fans for its edgy humor.

In 1996, Bugs and the other Looney Tunes characters appeared in the live-action/animated movie, Space Jam , directed by Joe Pytka and starring Michael Jordan . The film also introduced the character Lola Bunny , who becomes Bugs' new love interest. The movie received mixed reviews from critics, but was a box office success (grossing over $230 million worldwide). The success of Space Jam led to the development of another live-action/animated movie, Looney Tunes: Back In Action , released in 2003 and directed by Joe Dante . Unlike Space Jam, Back In Action was a box-office bomb, though it did receive more positive reviews from critics. A younger version of Bugs, voiced by Samuel Vincent , is the main character of Baby Looney Tunes , which debuted on Cartoon Network in 2002. In the Action-Adventure series Loonatics Unleashed , his definite descendant Ace Bunny is the leader of the Loonatics team and seems to have inherited his ancestor's Mid-Atlantic accent and comedic wit.

The Looney Tunes Show Bugs' redesign in The Looney Tunes Show In 2011, Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang returned to television in the Cartoon Network sitcom, The Looney Tunes Show , with Jeff Bergman returning to voice both Bugs and Daffy Duck for the first time since 1992's Invasion Of The Bunny Snatchers . The characters feature new designs by artist Jessica Borutski. Among the changes to Bugs' appearance were the simplification and enlargement of his feet, as well as a change to his fur from gray to a shade of mauve (though in the second season, his fur was changed back to gray). In the series, Bugs and Daffy are portrayed as best friends as opposed to their usual pairing as rivals or frenemies. At the same time, Bugs is more openly annoyed at Daffy's antics in the series (sometimes to the point of aggression), compared to his usual carefree personality from the original cartoons. Bugs and Daffy are close friends with Porky Pig in the series, although Bugs tends to be a more reliable friend to Porky than Daffy is.

Bugs also dates Lola Bunny in the show, although at first he finds her to be "crazy" and a bit too talkative (he later learns to accept her personality quirks, similar to his tolerance for Daffy). Unlike the original cartoons, Bugs lives in an upper middle-class house, which he shares with Daffy, Taz (whom he treats as a pet dog) and Speedy Gonzales , in the middle of a cul-de-sac with their neighbors Yosemite Sam, Granny and Witch Lezah . According to the episode "Peel of Fortune," Bugs' financial success comes from his invention of the carrot peeler. Wabbit. A Looney Tunes Prod. In 2015, Bugs returned to television yet again as the star of Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Prod. , which premiered on both Cartoon Network and Boomerang . Personality & Catchphrases "Some people call me cocky and brash, but actually I am just self-assured. I'm nonchalant, im­perturbable, contemplative. I play it cool, but I can get hot under the collar. And above all I'm a very 'aware' character.

I'm well aware that I am appearing in an animated car­toon....And sometimes I chomp on my carrot for the same reason that a stand-up comic chomps on his cigar. It saves me from rushing from the last joke to the next one too fast. And I sometimes don't act, I react. And I always treat the contest with my pursuers as 'fun and games.' When momentarily I appear to be cornered or in dire danger and I scream, don't be consoined – it's actually a big put-on. Let's face it Doc. I've read the script and I al­ready know how it turns out. " ―Bob Clampett on Bugs Bunny, written in first person. Bugs outsmarts Daffy and Elmer in Rabbit Seasoning He is a cunning, charismatic, and smart rabbit. These personality traits are what gives him an advantage over his enemies, rivals and opponents. He is also known for his famous catch phrase; "Eh, what's up, doc?", which he typically uses as a greeting to anyone he encounters (usually while munching a carrot).

Bugs is characterized as being clever and capable of outsmarting anyone who antagonizes him, including Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Willoughby, Marvin The Martian , Beaky Buzzard , Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, the Tasmanian Devil , Cecil Turtle , Witch Hazel , Rocky and Mugsy , Wile E. Coyote , The Crusher , The Gremlin , Count Bloodcount , and a whole bunch of others. Bugs almost always wins these contentions, a story pattern which recurs in Looney Tunes cartoons directed by Chuck Jones . Concerned that viewers would lose sympathy for an aggressive protagonist who always won, Chuck arranged for Bugs to be bullied, cheated, or threatened by the antagonists while minding his own business, justifying his subsequent antics as retaliation or self-defense. He's also been known to break The 4th Wall by "communicating" with the audience, either by explaining the situation (e.g. "Be with you in a minute, folks!"), describing someone to the audience (e.g. "Feisty, ain't they?"), clueing in on the story (e.g.

"That happens to him all during the picture, folks."), explaining that one of his antagonists' actions have pushed him to the breaking point ("Of course you know, this means war."), admitting his own deviousness toward his antagonists ("Gee, ain't I a stinker?"), etc. When Bugs made his appearance, he promptly replaced Daffy Duck as the most popular Warner Bros. character. Daffy, jealous of his cartoon counterpart's ascension to fame, has on many occasions attempted to dethrone the rabbit. But he has never truly succeeded, always being outsmarted by the clever hare. However, as time passed on, Bugs and Daffy's rivalry has turned friendlier in nature as the two usually hang out together in most cartoons and Bugs considers Daffy his best friend despite his faults, to which Daffy says the same thing. Bugs will usually try to placate the antagonist and avoid contention, but when a villain pushes him too far, Bugs may address the audience and invoke his catchphrase "Of course you realize this means war!" before he retaliates, and the retaliation will be devastating.

This line was taken from Groucho Marx and others in the 1933 film Duck Soup and was also used in the 1935 Marx film A Night at the Opera. Bugs would pay homage to Groucho in other ways, such as occasionally adopting his stooped walk or leering eyebrow-raising (in Hair-Raising Hare , for example) or sometimes with a direct impersonation (as in Slick Hare ). Bugs about to give Yosemite Sam the shaft (in more ways than one) in Bugs Bunny Rides Again Other directors, such as Friz Freleng , characterized Bugs as altruistic. When Bugs meets other successful characters (such as Cecil Turtle in Tortoise Beats Hare , or, in World War II, the Gremlin of Falling Hare ), his overconfidence becomes a disadvantage. Most of Bugs' adversaries are extremely dim-witted, and Bugs is easily able to outwit and torment them, although on occasion they will manage to get the best of Bugs. Daffy Duck, who is arguably more intelligent but less clever, is unaffected by Bugs' usual schemes, which usually results in the two trying to outsmart the other with Bugs always triumphing in the end.

However, there are only 4 antagonists that successfully defeats Bugs in the end of the cartoon, such as Cecil Turtle, the Gremlin from Falling Hare, the unnamed mouse from Rhapsody Rabbit , and the fly from Baton Bunny . During the 1940s, Bugs started off immature and wild (similar to Daffy), but by the 1950s his personality matured and his attitude became more refined and less frenetic. Although often shown as highly clever, Bugs is never actually malicious, and only acts as such in self-defense against his aggressors. The only exceptions where Bugs ever serves as an antagonist are the following: Elmer's Pet Rabbit , Wabbit Twouble , The Wacky Wabbit , Buckaroo Bugs and Duck Amuck ; Elmer's Pet Rabbit depicts him completely out-of-character with a more aggressive, arrogant, almost thuggish personality. Wabbit Twouble and The Wacky Wabbit depict him as a prankster harassing Elmer Fudd in the vein of early Daffy Duck/Porky Pig cartoons featuring the screwball Daffy as the tormentor.

Buckaroo Bugs depicts him as a true villain, while Duck Amuck depicts him as far more sadistic than usual, as he becomes an animator and uses his newfound powers to torture Daffy. Bugs Bunny's nonchalant carrot-chewing standing position, as explained by Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, and Bob Clampett , originated in a scene in the 1934 film It Happened One Night, in which Clark Gable's character leans against a fence, eating carrots rapidly and talking with his mouth full to Claudette Colbert's character. This scene was well known while the film was popular, and viewers at the time likely recognized Bugs Bunny's behavior as satire. The carrot-chewing scenes are generally followed by Bugs Bunny's most well-known catchphrase, "What's up, Doc?", which was written by director Tex Avery for his first Bugs Bunny short, 1940's A Wild Hare . Tex explained later that it was a common expression in his native Texas and that he did not think much of the phrase. When the short was first screened in theaters, the "What's up, Doc?" scene generated a tremendously positive audience reaction.

As a result, the scene became a recurring element in subsequent films and cartoons. The phrase was sometimes modified for a situation. For example, Bugs says "What's up, dogs?" to the antagonists in A Hare Grows In Manhattan , "What's up, Duke?" to the knight in Knight-Mare Hare and "What's up, prune-face?" to the aged Elmer in The Old Grey Hare . He might also greet Daffy with "What's up, Duck?" He used one variation, "What's all the hub-bub, bub?" only once, in Falling Hare. Another variation is used in Looney Tunes: Back In Action when he greets a bubble gun-yielding Marvin The Martian saying "What's up, Darth?" (a reference to Darth Vader from the Star Wars film series).

10 Things You Didn't Know About 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' 10 Things You Didn't Know About 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' July 18, 2013 @ 11:00 AM Disney It's been 25 years since the premiere of 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit,' a love song to American animation that used groundbreaking techniques to put cartoon characters in the real world. The film is often credited with starting a renaissance in movie animation, particularly at Disney. In honor of the film's 25th anniversary, we're sharing 10 of our favorite facts about the making of this unique movie. 1 It was based on 'Who Censored Roger Rabbit?' St. Martins Press The 1981 mystery novel by Gary. K Wolf was the basis for the film, but the plots of the book and the film differ greatly. For one thing, the novel takes place in the world of comic strips rather than animation. Many of the characters are the same, but in the book, Eddie Valiant is investigating Roger's murder after the rabbit hired him to find out why the comics syndicate backed out on a deal for Roger to star in his own strip.

Roger's death was included in early drafts of the movie's climax, but the idea of killing off the lead toon was axed, along with the Sting song 'The Lazarus Heart' which was supposed to play over Roger's death scene. 2 Warner Brothers wanted equal screen time One of the strengths of 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' is the presence of so many classic cartoon characters from different studios. Since Disney was footing part of the bill, Warner Brothers was worried that their characters would be relegated to background roles. So as part of the deal for the use of the Looney Tunes characters, they required that two of their biggest stars get the same amount of screentime as two of Disney's biggest. As a result, Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny go skydiving together and Donald and Daffy Duck (no relation) face off in the hilarious piano duel scene. 3 The "pig head" scene almost made the final cut Like most movies, 'Roger Rabbit' had its share of scenes that were shelved in various phases of production.

The one that came closest to being included in the movie was the pig head sequence, in which Doom catches Eddie Valiant snooping around the Ink and Paint Club and has the weasels give him the Toontown version of a warning not to stick his nose where it doesn't belong. 4 The weasels' names revealed Disney The names of the weasels who make up Judge Doom's Toon Patrol are never mentioned in the film. They are Greasy (in the green zoot suit), Wheezy (the blue-grey chain smoker), Psycho (in a straitjacket), Stupid (wearing a beanie) and Smartass (in the pink zoot suit.) (Smartass is sometimes called "Smart Guy" or "Wise Guy" in merchandise and at the Disney parks.) There were originally plans to have seven weasels as a nod to the seven dwarfs, but the other two were cut to reduce the amount of work for the animators on what was already a very labor intensive project. 5 Judge Doom's vulture and kangaroo court bigbadtoystore.com At one stage in the movie's development, Judge Doom had a much larger entourage of toons.

There was an animated vulture, that perched on Doom's shoulder. He even had his own jury of kangaroos that would pull letters out of their pouches spelling out "You are guilty" -- a play on the term "kangaroo court." Like Doom's additional weasels, these characters were dropped to keep the time and cost of animation under control. But the vulture somehow made it into the Roger Rabbit toyline alongside the Judge Doom figure. 6 Cloverleaf and 'Chinatown' Disney Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, who wrote the film's screenplay, were both big fans of Roman Polanski's 'Chinatown.' They got the idea for Doom's plot to replace Toontown with an offramp shopping complex from an unproduced sequel to 'Chinatown' based on real life corruption surrounding transportation in Los Angeles. The proposed title for the 'Chinatown' sequel was 'Cloverleaf,' which is the name of Doom's company in 'Roger Rabbit.' 7 Mae Questel's swan song Disney/Imdb Toontown is not all sunshine and happy endings.

One of the most poignant moments in the film is the sight of former cartoon star Betty Boop reduced to selling cigarettes because she hasn't been able to find work since cartoons went to color. Betty is voiced by her original voice actress Mae Questel, performing the character for the first time in decades. It turned out to be Questel's final performance as Betty Boop. (She passed away a decade after the film's premiere.) 8 Classic screen stars served as inspiration for Jessica Disney Among the visual inspirations for Jessica Rabbit, Roger's shapely and not at all lagomorphic wife, were actresses Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall and Veronica Lake. Gary K. Wolf modeled the original Jessica after Red from Tex Avery's 'Red Hot Riding Hood' and Jessica's performance at The Ink and Paint Club is very similar to Red's song and dance number from the famous short. Fun fact: Jessica's ample breasts literally defy gravity. They're animated so that they bounce in reverse, moving up when they'd normally go down and vice versa. 9 Roger is a cartoon Frankenstein Disney Roger was designed as an amalgamation of classic cartoon characters, a creation that felt at home with the well-known toons but was still unique.

The filmmakers described Roger as having the face of a Warner Brothers character, the body of a Disney protagonist and the attitude of a Tex Avery creation. His overalls are based on Goofy's outfit, his tie on Porky Pig and his gloves on Mickey Mouse, though Roger's are yellow to stand out against his white fur. 10 The film contains several anachronisms Disney 'Roger Rabbit' is set in 1947, but not everything in the film was around in 1947. Some characters who didn't yet exist in 1947 make appearances in the movie, though since toons are real in the movie's world, it could be that they're around in 1947, but not yet famous. The most notable mistake is the short that Roger and Eddie watch in the movie theater, 'Goofy Gymnastics,' which came out in 1949. The filmmakers were aware of this, but went ahead and used the short because it was the best example of Goofy's physical comedy which Roger so admired.

Top 50 Cartoon Characters of All Time Top 50 Cartoon Characters of All Time Modern and Classic Cartoon Characters Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters Thanks, You're in! There was an error. Please try again. Please select a newsletter. Please enter a valid email address. Did you mean ? SpongeBob SquarePants Updated September 01, 2016. Cartoon characters are as endearing to adults as children. Many times we can relate to them. Most of the time we just love to laugh at their antics and misfortune. Following is the list of top 50 cartoon characters of all time, judged for their influence, their popularity, and their hilarity. Looking for costume ideas? Check out these TV cartoon character costumes for Halloween . Bugs Bunny - Looney Tunes. Warner Bros. 1. Bugs Bunny "What's up, doc?" Bugs Bunny is, perhaps, the most recognizable and famous cartoon character. Looney Tunes were first created as lead-ins to feature films. Bugs first appeared as a n-name rabbit in 1938 in "Porky's Hare Hunt." Tex Avery later named him Bugs Bunny after the infamous West Coast mobster.

Decades later, Looney Tunes cartoons became a Saturday morning staple. Bugs Bunny is still tops. continue reading below our video Celebrity Breakups of 2015 We Didn't See Coming Homer Simpson. Twentieth Century Fox 2. Homer Simpson Homer Simpson is known throughout the world. Having been on TV for over 20 seasons, this patriarch is not the father who knows best, but he certainly tries. Homer Simpson is based on creator Matt Groening's father, who is also named Homer. And if you look at Homer's profile, a bit of his hair and his ear form the initials "M G." Mickey Mouse. Kevin Winter / Getty Images 3. Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse represents Disney in all its forms. He started life in black and white in 1928's Steamboat Willie, the first synchronized sound cartoon. Mickey Mouse was first voiced by Walt Disney, himself, then later by Jim MacDonald and Wayne Allwine. Mickey Mouse isn't just a cartoon character; he's an icon. Bart Simpson. ©1999 20TH CENTURY FOX FILM CORP. 4. Bart Simpson The second favorite character from The Simpsons is Bart.

His catchphrases are "Ay caramba!" and "Eat my shorts!" He opens every episode at the chalkboard, writing out a punishment that might say, "I will finish what I sta..." He is a prankster, but a loyal friend and brother. We all knew a kid like Bart, and sometimes wished we were like him. See also: Profile of a Prankster: Bart Simpson 1978: Portrait of American cartoonist Charles M Schulz (1922 - 2001), creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip, sitting at his studio drawing table with a picture of his character Charlie Brown and some awards behind him. Schulz created the comic strip in 1950. CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images 5. Charlie Brown Introduced on TV in A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965, this comic strip staple became a holiday tradition. The kid who never kicks the football, whose dog is more popular than he is and who has a crush on the red-headed girl steals our hearts every year with a variety of cartoon specials. The Flintstones. Turner Broadcasting 6. Fred Flintstone Fred Flintstone is the forerunner to Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin .

The Flintstones premiered in 1960, modeled after The Honeymooners, the first made-for-TV primetime cartoon. Fred was the first portly animated husband who had a hot wife, not enough brains for his schemes and a bad temper. Yet, he loved his family. The Grinch. Cartoon Network 7. The Grinch Dr. Seuss created many characters who made the leap from books to TV, but none as easily and successfully as The Grinch. How the Grinch Stole Christmas animates Dr. Seuss' book about the grouchy green cave-dweller who attempts to ruin Christmas for the Whos down in Whoville. The holiday special, starring Boris Karloff, first aired in 1966. Now an annual holiday favorite, his turn from selfish to selfless promotes the true meaning of Christmas. Popeye reaches for a can of spinach in a still from an unidenitified Popeye film, c. 1945. Paramount Pictures / Getty Images 8. Popeye Like many TV cartoon characters, Popeye began life as a comic strip. Then in 1933, he starred in a Betty Boop cartoon, Popeye the Sailor.

His catchphrases include, "Well, blow me down!" and "I eats my spinach!" His bulging forearms, squinty eyes, and staccato chuckle are recognized by many generations. Wile E. Coyote. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images 9. Wile E. Coyote Poor Wile E. Coyote. We don't want him to catch the Road Runner, but we sure feel bad for him. Director Chuck Jones created the tenacious coyote along with Michael Maltese. The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote were introduced in 1948's Fast and Furry-Ous. Rocky and Bullwinkle with Flowers. Classic Media 10. Rocky and Bullwinkle Stan and Ollie. Hope and Crosby. Martin and Lewis. In the animated world, Rocky and Bullwinkle are the comedy team who saves the day. Rocky's unending optimism coupled with Bullwinkle's lucky mishaps save their pelts every time. The duo starred in Rocky and His Friends, which premiered in 1959.

Their cartoon included the segments: "Fractured Fairytales," "Aesop and Son," " Peabody 's Improbable History" and "Mr. Know It All."

Question: ‘Happy Rabbit’ was the original name for which cartoon character?
Answer: Bugs Bunny